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Apple - yawn - unveils slimmer iPad

It wasn't the wildest of times, but Apple unveiled a slimmer iPad and also a new mini iPad not much bigger than the new iPhone 6 plus. Bobbi Rebell reports.

TRANSCRIPT +

SOUNDBITE: COMEDIAN STEPHEN COLBERT (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"Hello?"
Stephen Colbert making a cameo at the latest Apple unveil event- giving the company a hard time about the timing of the upcoming Apple Watch.
SOUNDBITE: COMEDIAN STEPHEN COLBERT (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"Get back to work 'cause you know what I see when I look at my wrist? My wrist! (laughter) Where's the watch?"
And that was the point at the latest Apple product launch. No splashy new gadget like the watch. No wow factor.
Reuters Christina Farr was there:
SOUNDBITE: CHRISTINA FARR, REUTERS CORRESPONDENT (ENGLISH) SAYING:
'The press seemed a little bored to say the least. There were plenty of jokes which lightened the mood, and Tim Cook did come across as very sincere, but overall not a huge amount of news compared to what we have seen at previosuly from Apple.
What they did reveal:
SOUNDBITE: TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"This is the new iPad Air 2"
New iPads- the iPad Air 2 starting just under $500 . 18 percent thinner and 40 percent faster. The smaller mini's just under $400 to start. Both now have fingerprint sensors - and come in gold.
Also a new desktop iMac with a high resolution screen that Apple hopes will be irresistable to its biggest fans - despite its hefty $2500 price tag- and could be a nod to the yes - still anticipated Apple TV.
Morningstar's Brian Colello:
SOUNDBITE: BRIAN COLELLO, SENIOR ANALYST, MORNINGSTAR (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"The retina display on the iMac with 5000 pixels, that is actually more advanced than the most advanved televisions out there. That is very intriguing if you think about what a future Apple TV product might look like maybe a couple years down the line. Because quite frankly, they probably can't make that screen in a large enough size today. But that is a good signal for the type of quality they might look at for TV. That is the only real nugget of info that was surprising to the market.
Apple stock did not however cheer the new lineup, falling on Thursday.
The e-commerce service Apple Pay launches Monday. It won't be a real moneymaker, but it will be pay off:
SOUNDBITE: BRIAN COLELLO, SENIOR ANALYST, MORNINGSTAR (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"Apple Pay should help create customer stickiness. We think it's a very hard service to replicate. In order to get all these networks, between the banks, and the credit card networks, the merchants, it's a very hard thing that Apple pulled off here."
The new operating system, Yosemite is out. The key feature there - continuity- which makes it easier to juggle between Apple devices. Another pay off for customers who buy into the Apple ecosystem.

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